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A. Tong: Address to World Summit

Written by H. E. Anote Tong, President (2003–2016), Kiribati

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Address to World Summit 2019, Seoul, Korea, February 7–11, 2019

Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, Your Excellencies, Heads and Former Heads of state and government, Brothers and Sisters, let me begin with a traditional greeting from my part of the world, Kam na mauri, meaning, “May you be blessed.”

Many of us have come to Korea from different parts of the world at the invitation of Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon to attend the 2019 World Summit to deliberate on global peace, security and human development. We have come from different walks of life, from our different countries. We have come from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. We have come from different religious persuasions. Yet in spite of all that, in spite of all of our differences, we have dared to come here with the grand ambition to seek peace and harmony for all of humanity and with the ambition to make this world a better place, not just for us today but more importantly for our grandchildren and for their grandchildren’s children.

Yesterday we also had the opportunity to attend the Sunhak Peace Prize awards ceremony for 2019, and we witnessed the recognition of the dedication and the great work of two very worthy recipients who dared dream of making this world a better place for those whose lives they’ve touched. Once again, we offer most sincere congratulations for these extremely outstanding individuals.

This world of ours is full of many challenge starting within the home with domestic abuse and violence and going on to female genital mutilation, poverty and hunger discrimination in all of its forms, the looming threat of World War III, the impending cataclysmic effects of climate change and so forth. The question of peace is, Will we ever be able to find salvation? Will we ever achieve our ambition of achieving peace and harmony, which we seek? Will we ever be able to make this world a good place for all? Does humanity have a future? These are the questions.

A further question is, Is there a key that would unlock the answer to these pressing questions, and, if so, where is it? For almost two decades now I have been searching for solutions to the existing threat posed by climate change to those of us on the front line of this catastrophe, mostly for those of us on low-lying island countries in middle of the Pacific and elsewhere in those communities that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

I have often asked these questions, but, to date, I have not been able to find the answer. I search for a way to touch the heart and the soul of people, hoping that the answers might be there.

So this brings me to our agenda for today. Today we are here to join in celebrating an event that has impacted the four corners of the world: the births of Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, the founders of the Universal Peace Federation. We also celebrate the anniversary of the foundation of UPF, Foundation Day. Our very presence here over the last few days, our presence at the Sunhak Peace Prize award ceremony yesterday, and our coming here today is testimony to the effect of that impact.

On behalf of all of us here today and on behalf on those who are unable to be here but nevertheless subscribe to your legacy, to your vision, to your mission, let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to Reverend and Dr. Moon for your enduring and selfless sacrifice and your commitment to peacebuilding. Your work has touched the lives of people in different parts of the world.

I take this opportunity on your behalf to thank God for his gift in giving you to us, in giving you to the world. We congratulate you both on this special day, and we thank you for the most precious gift of all that you have shared with us: your legacy and your values to live for the sake of others, to live as one family under God. In return, there is nothing we can give you, but our gift to you is to embrace the legacy and the values that you have given us and make a commitment to passing this legacy and these values to others. I believe that herein lies the key to the answers that continue to elude us, the answers that we continue to seek. Reverend and Dr. Moon, Happy Birthday, and may God bless you and bless all of us.

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We are an international and interreligious network of individuals and organizations, including representatives from religion, government, civil society and the private sector dedicated to achieving world peace. UPF supports the work of the United Nations, particularly in the areas of interfaith peacebuilding, peace education, and the strengthening of marriage and family.

Universal Peace Federation is an NGO in General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations We support and promote the work of the United Nations and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals